The Museum at De La Salle University Manila

Mga Obra maestra:
A visual Feast from the Wili and Doreen Fernandez and De La Salle University Art Collections September 27 – December 7, 2012

The Museum presents for the second term an exhibition entitled Mga Obra Maestra: A Visual Feast from the Wili and Doreen Fernandez and De La Salle University Art Collections, featuring works spanning from the late 1950s until 2000 that illustrate major movements and styles in Philippine art history.

Mga Obra Maestra showcases artworks in an array of mediums, color palettes, themes and techniques as diverse as the artists who created them.

The exhibit is a homage to collectors Wili and Doreen Fernandez, whose passion for art made them collect works of art that mirror the significant contributions of Modernists to Philippine visual arts. We also present the best of the University’s art collection acquired through the years.

The exhibition is on view until December 7, 2012.

Works from the Wili and Doreen Fernandez Art Collections

National Artists

Fernando Amorsolo (Painting, 1972)

Carlos “Botong” Francisco (Painting, 1973)

Vicente S. Manansala (Painting, 1981)

Cesar Legaspi (Visual Arts, 1990)

H. R. Ocampo (Visual Arts, 1991)

Arturo R. Luz (Visual Arts, 1997)

J. Elizalde Navarro (Painting, 1999)

Ang Kiukok (Visual Arts, 2001)

Jose T. Joya (Visual Arts, 2003)

Bencab (Painting, 2006)

Prominent Filipino Modern and Contemporary Artists

Ross Arcilla

Justin Nuyda

Virgilio Aviado

Onib Olmedo

Pablo Baens-Santos

Rod Paras-Perez

Orlando Castillo

Mario Parial

Eduardo Castrillo

Manuel Rodriguez, Sr.

Roberto Chabet

Juvenal Sanso

Araceli Dans

Solomon Saprid

Edgar Doctor

Romeo Tabuena

Raul Isidro

Nestor Vinluan

Anita Magsaysay-Ho

Fernando Zobel

Mauro Malang Santos

Fernando Modesto

Works from the De La Salle University Art Collection

National Artist

Napoleon Abueva (Sculpture, 1976)

Bencab (Painting, 2006)

Abdulmari Imao (Sculpture, 2006)

Jose Joya (Visual Arts, 2003)

Prominent and Contemporary Filipino Artists

Federico Aguilar Alcuaz

Juan Arellano

Angelito Antonio

Manuel Baldemor

Norma Belleza

Lao Lian Ben

Jeho Bitancor

Jose Blanco

Lor Calma

Ross Capili

Ibarra dela Rosa

Llamas Garcia

Wenceslao Garcia

Anita Magsaysay-Ho

Thomas Mapua

Julie Lluch

Diosdado Lorenzo

Nemi Miranda

Jonathan Olazo

Alma Quinto

Dan Raralio

Cesare Syjuco

Jeanne Marie Syjuco

Wall text

ARTIST’S QUOTES

“Sabel is, or was—I was told she died in 1972—a real flesh-and-blood person. I used to see her in the streets of Bambang, scavenging around garbage cans… I thought she made a terrific subject visually; I thought she made a terrific subject matter for my paintings. She used to gather these plastic sheets and wrap them around her body. They made the most beautiful abstract shapes.”

-Bencab

Bencab on his Sabel series, “Success with Sabel, 30

“His vision of the rustic scene was of gentle, romanticized women… gathering mangoes or planting rice. While it was the portrayal of his subject in nostalgic poses, suffused with sentiment, that accounted for his popular appeal, Amorsolo’s genius was as a master of light and color… It was the combination of solid drawing, rich and vibrant color, and nostalgic subject that was the Amorsolo appeal.”

Alejandro Roces on Fernando Amorsolo, Amorsolo (1892-1922), 12

“The one outstanding mural painter the country has produced is beyond question
Carlos V. Francisco. He celebrated on yards of canvas the best features of Filipinos
living in provincial towns and barrios.”

Emmanuel Torres on Carlos “Botong” Francisco, Kayamanan, 106

“I love these people. They are sincere, humble and kind. Without them, my art would surely be different.”

“If I had accomplished all my aims, I would not regret if I die in poverty, for then my soul can say, I have not died in vain.”

-Abdulmari Asia Imao

(2006).Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining (Order of National Artists). National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“I always tell them that a struggling artist is like a long distance runner… The important thing is the performance—how far and how fast he has finished the race… There are no short cuts in sculpture or, for that matter, in any field of endeavor. One has to sweat it out.”

-Napoleon Abueva

Jardin, N., Beltran, H. Jr., et.al., Eds. (1998). National Artists of the Philippines. Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts

“Painting is a statement I find no words to express the immured feeling I experience inside, it is a spontaneous outburst of passionate emotions and to me it becomes an aftermath of an intense pictorial idea, like the passing of a tempest leaving behind trails of a terrible tumult.”

“I am not an intellectual. I am a peasant. I do not paint from the mind. I paint from the heart.”

-Vicente Manansala

Reyes, C. (1989). Conversations on the Philippine Art. Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“We were creating a new kind of reality. We weren’t really creating a painting style. The only thing that all members had in common was that each was veering away from the realistic, strictly figurative type of painting.”

-Reyes, C. (1989). Conversations on the Philippine Art. Cultural Center of the Philippines

“You have to find your inspiration in your canvas. You don’t sit down and wait for it to come. You start, and then the inspiration comes.”

-Ang Kiukok

Reyes, C. (1989). Conversations on the Philippine Art. Cultural Center of the Philippines.

“…[S]ome people are humanity-oriented. I’m one of those…[T]he most striking thing about the human figure is that it affects human beings much more than anything else.”

“The crafting of his art is ever impeccable…No artist in the Philippine landscape has ever had such a profound influence on the quest for excellence and artistic integrity in so varied a spectrum, with the intellectual independence that is essential in all true art.”

-Arturo Luz

Jardin, N., Beltran, H. Jr., et.al., Eds. (1998). National Artists of the Philippines. Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts

“…I would say that the stringent parameters of advertising art coupled with the disciplines learned in serious art would help any artist whether he is in painting or art sculpture.”

-J. Elizalde Navarro

Retrieved from http://emanila.com/arts/navarro.htm

Exhibition Notes

Mga Obra Maestra: A Visual Feast from the Wili and Doreen Fernandez and De La Salle University Art Collections

The Museum presents for the second term an exhibition entitled Mga Obra Maestra: A Visual Feast from the Wili and Doreen Fernandez and De La Salle University Art Collections. The exhibition is a homage to our collectors, Wili and Doreen Fernandez with whose passion in art made them collected the artworks that mirror the significant contributions of Modernists in the Philippine visual arts. Some of the earliest acquisitions of the collection are masterpieces of National Artists, some of which at that time did not have a name yet. This is an indication that Wili and Doreen had both an eye for excellent works of art. The exhibition also features the collection acquired by the University from 1988 to 2010.

The works in Mga Obra Maestra showcase an array of mediums, color palettes, themes and varied techniques of artists who created them.

The term obra maestra is an eleven letter synonym for an art museum exhibit. Obra maestra means a masterpiece that defines creation given critical praise, especially that is considered the greatest work of a person’s career. They are one of a kind and exceptionally executed by the artists through their style and choice of medium. If an artwork successfully communicates its message, it is considered a masterpiece.

Modern art is not synonymous with contemporary art. The former encompasses only works that were created in the first half of the 20th century while contemporary art, on the other hand symbolizes the works done at the present time or in the very recent past. Contemporary art simply means that “art has been and continues to be created during our lifetimes”. Today’s art is now bound by no rigid tradition and has the liberty to experiment with various styles and media. Artists continue to explore and experiment to express what and how they feel with an expression that comes from their heart and soul.